Second serve: now ‘Mr Nasty’ of tennis faces exile over foul rant at British women players

THE tennis star Ilie Nastase is unlikely to work in elite sport again after disgraceful scenes in the Black Sea resort of Constanta yesterday.

Having reduced British No 1 Johanna Konta to tears with a foul-mouthed outburst, the 70-year-old former world top-ranked player turned his anger on British journalists – including The Sunday Telegraph – before being hustled away from the venue.

Nastase had his accreditation revoked by the International Tennis Federation, which is investigating his conduct over the weekend.

The trouble started when he made racist and sexist comments at Friday’s Federation Cup draw ceremony – yet those were as nothing compared with the four-letter insults he hurled in all directions yesterday.

As so often in Nastase’s chequered history, the controversy began with an argument – in this case, with the Spanish umpire Jaume Campistol. The crowd, growing frustrated with Konta’s superiority over home hope Sorana Cirstea, had begun shouting “out” during rallies, and Campistol warned that he might have to dock points from the Romanian team if the interference continued.

At that point, Nastase jumped to his feet and announced “It’s not the opera! What’s your ----ing problem?” He was warned for offensive language, and then the argument escalated until he was ejected from the tie by referee Andreas Egli for unsportsmanlike conduct.

As he left, Nastase called Egli a “---ing ---hole” and shouted “----ing bitches” in the direction of Konta and teammate Anne Keothavong.

Keothavong said: “What he said to both Johanna and myself, it’s not something I am going to repeat because it’s language that is not appropriate for anyone to speak to any other human.”

Keothavong also said the ITF could have moved faster after Nastase made an offensive remark about Serena Williams’s unborn baby and then asked Keothavong for her room number.

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